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Friday, 30 August 2013

Today I wanted to share with you my inspiration in life, my amazing parents, Peter and Carole.

My birthday 2010

Now, I know it may sound corny, but they are the best parents I could have ever wished for. They got married in June 1983, and I was born in August 1986. Shortly after I was born, they moved into a bigger family home, and they have been there ever since. They actually live opposite my dad's parent's, the house where my dad was born and grew up. This was great growing up, I got to see my grandparents every day! Back to my parents.....

First family photo after I was born

Since I was about 18 months old, they have been foster carers. That's over 25 years of looking after children, and lots of them. They have looked after over 100 children in that time! Now that is amazing!Being an only child in our family unit - I do have 2 sisters and a brother from my mum's first marriage - I used to love having other children in the house to play with. We would have children from babies, to moody teenagers, but my parents handled each child with love and affection, something some of them were not used to. And that is what I admire most about my mum and dad. They care about each child, no matter what. That is their nature. Anyone who has met them would tell you the same.

At their 30th Wedding Anniversary party 2013

So, after about 10 years of fostering, I was 11 and we had a young boy who was 13. I thought it would be great having someone to play with, but oh no. We argued ALL the time, sometimes we would even fight. He would play the 'I am the oldest!' card, and I would say 'Well it's my house!' and we went on like that for a few weeks, before mum and dad realised I needed to be the eldest child in the house. So from then on, we only ever had children that were younger than me. I do have to admit, I think it made me feel more settled, and responsible.

When they were young!

For the last 10 years, they have mainly had babies. Mum loves babies :) They are so good with them. The majority of these babies have been adopted out to new families, which is an amazing thing. I don't think those children could have had a better start in life than to have had my parents look after them. Although it is heartbreaking to get so attached to this gorgeous baby, then have to watch them drive away, mum and dad know that they are getting what they have always deserved, a mum and dad that will love them, forever. Now, when I was helping to organise their 30th Wedding Anniversary party earlier this year, I knew that I had to invite some of the children that they had fostered, along with their families. It was no shock that the four families I invited were so happy to come along and celebrate with them. I had kept these guests a secret from mum and dad, and on the night, they were so happy when the arrived. So was I! Fostering has been a massive part of their married life, so I had to acknowledge that.

On my wedding day 2012

My wedding day has to be one of the most special days in my life so far, and my parents were amazing. They helped so much, financially and emotionally. My mum helped me get ready and got me tied into my dress, and my dad gave me away. It was perfect. My dad's speech was so lovely, and after our first dance as a married couple, I had a special father-daughter dance with my dad. It was lovely, but all we could really here was my mum sobbing in the corner as, in her word, 'That is so lovely' then more crying! Haha, she was so emotional that day :)

At our wedding reception 2012

My mum is my role model, my inspiration, my best friend. She is so caring and loving, and I hope to be as good a mum as she was to me and my brother and sisters. She has been through so much in her life. Her dad died when she was 14, she had a blood clot in her lung, and she had breast cancer. She is an amazing woman. Through all of these things, and many more, she has carried on being the strong and loving woman I know she will always be!

Cheeky!My dad is perfect. He is so fun, and caring, and he gives the best hugs! He is always there for a chat, and he gives great advice. He has been a freelance photographer for around 12 years now, and he is amazing! I know I am bias, but he is! Haha. I think he found it quite hard on my wedding day not having a camera in his hand! But he did well, and he had one of his good friends do the photos, which were amazing :) He is the best dad ever.Thank you for reading this post, I just wanted to share with everyone how wonderful my parents are, how much I appreciate what they have done for me over the last 27 years, and how much I love them.Beka x

Friday, 23 August 2013

Last night I was looking on the Internet for dress ideas for Plus North and I stumbled on a new brand called Pink Clove. As soon as I opened up their website, I saw soooo much I wanted! They have some beautiful dresses and some gorgeous skirts! I don't own many skirts, but I saw at least 3 I want on there!

So, I was perusing the dresses and noticed a lovely lace number in claret that I couldn't stop looking at. I kept on looking at the dresses, but seemed to be drawn back to that one. Here is a picture of it...

What I also really loved about their website is, in the description on the item, they give you the details of the dress and also give you the details of the model wearing it. So, for this dress.....

I think this is great as you can then relate how it hangs on the model to your height. So, whilst I was looking, well more drooling, over the dress, my finger accidentally hit the 'Add to bag' button....then somehow, I filled in delivery details, payment details and hitting order :) I couldn't resist! I also joined their newsletter, which gave me a 10% off discount code, so I opted for the next day delivery option too! I did order it at like 9pm, so it won't be here today, but I can;t wait for it to arrive, and I really hope it looks nice :)

Sunday, 18 August 2013

As you may know from previous posts, I am doing daily vlog's on YouTube during August to give myself a bit of a challenge. I have loved it so far, and love sharing more of my personal life with you all. But, coming on here this morning has made me realise how hard it is to Vlog and Blog at the same time! I know I haven't posted much on here this month, but I have been so busy, not just with vlogging, but with it being the summer holidays and having two kids here, there and everywhere!

I promise that normal service will resume in Septemnber, where I have a few special things planned for the blog, and hopefully you will like them too :)

Here are the links to my YouTube channel if you fancy taking a little look at me in the flesh!

Saturday, 17 August 2013

I recently ordered 3 items from Simply Be. This was my first time ordering from them, and I was excited to see what the bits were like :)

Firstly, I ordered a dress I have seen a few times on other blogs, and it was something that would always catch my eye.

Hanky Hem Dress

I really like this dress. I have worn this a good few times so far, and I plan to wear it a lot in the summer :) I love the collar on it and the different lengths of the bottom. I love the colour too! The only downside for me is the gap-bit on my boobies. I did wear it the other week with a black vest top underneath, and then undid a few of the buttons to stop the pulling.

Then I couldn't resist getting these leggings.

Ditsy Print Legging

I am wearing leggings more and more now, and these looked so pretty! These are my first bright patterned pair, all my others are plain black or patterned black/grey. I wore them out as soon as they arrived :) They are nice and long, which is good for my long legs, and they are really comfortable.

I love them :)

Lastly, I ordered this lace Blouse

I was a little disappointed in this as it was way to short for me, and the sides are shorter than the front and back, so shows flesh. I just really didn't like how it looked, which is a shame. But, not one to be too negative..... I love wearing it open, over the top of a vest :) I have had lots of compliments on it, most people loving the colour. But I love it as it's a great way to jazz up a normally plain outfit.

Vest top - George @ Asda

Jeggings - New Look

I love the lace panel on the shoulders!

Overall, I am so glad I made this order, great additions to my growing wardrobe :)

Thursday, 15 August 2013

"I'm going to go with stand out from the crowd, if you fat your told to blend it but let's stand out with pride :) whether it's bright colours, loud prints crazy hair it's up to you :)"

When I read the challenge, I wasn't too sure what to do, but then I wore this outfit the other day and thought it would be good to discuss :)

So here is me, in a dress. Now about 6 months ago, apart from my wedding day, I don't think I had worn a dress for like 5 years?? I just never felt comfortable in them and I thought I 'couldn't' wear them. This wasn't something that I felt society had told me I couldn't wear, but it was something I told my self I couldn't wear. I am slowly starting to embrace my girly side and buy more dresses :)

Then, although not to apparent in the picture is that fact I am wearing nude wedges. They only have a small -maybe 1 inch - heel, but that is a big deal for me. I am just over 6ft tall, so the idea of ANY kind of heel scares me, but these I can do. Women are supposed to be smaller than men, not me! Again, this is something I thought I shouldn't wear, rather than even thinking about what people would think. I see it as, I am already tall, what does another inch or two matter!!

So I have conquered to of my 'fashion fears' in one outfit! And I plan to conquer more soon!!

Check out the other bloggers taking part in Outside My Comfort Zone Challenge

Sunday, 11 August 2013

So sorry! I have been so focused on my vlogging this month, and I have forgotten to post the links on here for you all :) I am trying to mix the blog up with some normal posts too, but the holidays are going so fast at the moment, and I'm kind of on a spending ban with all the school clothes I need to buy!! So, I'll post on here as much as I can, and I am going to try and do a bit of catch up with my vlogs!

Friday, 9 August 2013

I was out shopping last week and popped into Superdrug and got these lovely bits.

I hadn't really planned on buying anything, but a few things jumped out at me :)

This is Collection's Long Lasting Gel Polish and boasts to give you 'long lasting, gel-like shine that locks in colour'. I loved this colour as soon as I saw it! It's such a gorgeous coral colour. I really like their wide brushes, as I find it so much easier to apply on my nails.

I then moved over to the MUA counter and picked up this eyebrow pencil with brush on the other end. I, of course, went for the 'Brunette' colour. I have been after an eyebrow pencil for a while, and when I saw this, especially at £1, I had to pick it up. And it was a bonus that it had a brush on the end too. The colour of the pencil goes great with my brows, and the brush blends it in nicely.

Lastly, I grabbed these two as it was 3 for 2 on all nail polishes. I have been looking at the 'Deepest Purple' polish for a while, and I took the opportunity and picked it up, along with another coral colour - I am a little addicted to this colour at the moment!

Thursday, 8 August 2013

Just realised I didn't post my video on here Tuesday, and, as we speak, I am uploading Wednesday's video too. I had such a great birthday with Mike, my parents and with my friends in the evening :) I hope you enjoy these videos, as I am really enjoying filming and putting them out there for you. I have been spending a lot of time doing this, which has affected my normal blogging routine, so I have put 'Five Question Friday' on hold just until September, but it will be back!

Sunday, 4 August 2013

Well helloHope you are all well. I have just returned from a meeting in Watford with some lovely people. It was about an hour and a half to get there around the nightmare that is the M25, in the rain and wind, but luckily it was only just under an hour to get back. So, sitting here eating my lunch, I thought I would explain about how I am in the situation I am in.I have obviously mentioned Maria before, but she is not my daughter. Technically she is my foster-daughter. Now to explain how we know her.......... Mike's son Jack is her half-brother (same mum), but Mike is not her dad. He was with her mum whilst she was growing up, so knew her pretty well. To cut a long story short, she was in care in Hertfordshire, and wasn't able to go back to her mum. No one else could have her long term, so Mike and I discussed it, and we really didn't want her and Jack to be that far apart and hardly ever see each other. And she is a lovely girl, who deserved to be with her family, or well as close as.She has lived with us for 15 months now, and I can't imagine life before her and Jack being with us. She is a lovely girl, just about to turn 11, and acting like she's 21! We all have our moments, and we do not agree all the time, but I see that as a good thing. I am her carer first, then her friend, and I am glad that we have that relationship. She knows the rules and, most of the time, behaves.Now I have had this discussion with people before, and, I know she isn't my daughter, but I treat her exactly as I would my own children. And I love her just as much.... We have just got the stage of her telling me she loves me now and again, which is a nice feeling. Knowing that she is settled and feels happy with us is nice.Ever since we started down this road, I've had people telling me how it's such a wonderful thing I am doing, and that she is lucky to have us. Well I feel lucky as she is so kind and understanding, and way beyond her years! I did a parenting course a while ago, and we talked about giving praise, and not just to children, but for ourselves. And, along with another lady on the course, we both found it hard to take when people praise us for taking on these children. But, as the other lady felt, it was natural to want to help someone in need. Funnily enough, she was at the meeting today too, so we got to have a little catch up on how things have been going, which was nice.Also, my parents are foster carers, and have been since I was 18 months old, so I have been used to living with different children from different backgrounds and different ages. I loved growing up, I was an only child with my parents (I have 3 older siblings who have a different dad to me) so I always loved having other children to play with :) But they are my inspiration, they have loved 100 children, card for them and made sure they got the best start in life they could, or even a new start. They are wonderful and I love them so much.So, back to the beginning of this post..... I went to a support group for 'Family and Friends Carers' where we can chat amongst ourselves about our lives and how we get on looking after these children. I find it really reassuring knowing that I am not alone it what we do, and that other people have hard times and still get through it. We get to listen to someone talk about a different topic each time, and this month was Special Guardianship Orders. Now this was one of the main reasons I wanted to attend the meeting as that is something Mike and I want to do next year.Basically, it would just give Mike and I parental responsibility without taking it away from her mum. So we could make the decisions on her getting her ears pierced, to whether she can have an operation, and not have to worry about asking her mum's permission first. It would just make us more responsible for the day to day things. Anyway, that will be on a few months, once birthdays. Christmas, new year and Mike's is better, and we are more settled. It is something where we will have to go to court to get the order from a judge/magistrate, so it's all legal and proper. I am really looking forward to getting it all sorted. I may even have a party!So that's me, and how Maria has fitted in to our lives :) She is a wonderful girl, and I am so happy that I can be a parent to her.Thanks for reading, if you managed to get all the way through it. I am proud of what I do, and can't wait to have my own children, but they would never replace the feelings I have for Maria and Jack.toodle pip!Beka x

Yesterday we had a child-free day, so we ended up going out for lunch at our favourite restaurant, Cosmo Chinese Buffet in Chatham. We love visiting there as the food is always amazing, the service is great and we just love a Chinese! We recommend them to all our friends, and any time we plan to go out for a meal, we usually end up there :)

Thursday, 1 August 2013

Hope you guys are enjoying the first day of August :) I am looking forward to so much this month, days out, my birthday, parties galore and general merriment!

When I was chatting to my cousin Stacey in May, she said how much she was enjoying my #31daysofmay challenge, and I should do it again......at the time I laughed! I found it a real challenge to post everyday, but also, found it quite enjoyable. So I decided that I wanted to share with you as much as possible through August.

So, I will be blogging everyday, but the posts will be (hopefully) in video format of my days. If not, I will post pictures of what we got up to each day. This is a two-fold challenge, not only does it mean blogging everyday, but also will get me used to using my movie maker to improve my YouTube videos!